Temas Successfully Produces High Purity Titanium Dioxide from Pilot Plant Testwork
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NEWS RELEASE – for immediate release
TEMAS SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCES HIGH PURITY TITANIUM DIOXIDE FROM PILOT
PLANT TESTWORK
• About 830 kg of input ilmenite rich material produced approximately 88 kg of titanium dioxide (TiO2)
with an average grade of 99.8%
• Based on purity, applications include use as a precursor for pigments, filler for pulp and paper, ceramics,
and consumer products including sunscreen and cosmetics
Vancouver, B.C. - July 28, 2022 - Temas Resources Corp. (“Temas” or the “Company”) [CSE: TMAS] is pleased
to report positive pilot plant results for the recovery of high purity titanium dioxide from ilmenite-rich anorthosite
ore from its La Blache titanium (Ti) - iron (Fe) – vanadium (V) – chromium (Cr) property in Quebec.
A two-phase test program was implemented to process ~830 kg of La Blache ilmenite rich anorthosite to recover a
high purity TiO2 product. The La Blache property, situated on Quebec’s North Shore approximately 100 km from
the city of Baie-Comeau, consists of ilmenite rich material comprising ~41% Fe, ~10.6% Ti and ~0.18% V. Temas
engaged Process Research ORTECH Inc. (PRO) to apply the 50% Temas-owned ORF patented chloride process
for the treatment of the ilmenite ore to recover the titanium dioxide product. The pilot plant is located in
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Photo 1: TiO2 products produced at different process steps
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Michael Dehn, CEO of Temas Resources states, “We are satisfied that the pilot plant results have confirmed the
ability to produce a high purity TiO 2 product from ilmenite rich anorthosites. With the 88 kg produced from the
program, we are currently engaging with potential customers, and providing material for their own quality testing.
Results from this pilot plant program will be used to develop our Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on
the La Blache project.”
Phase 1 of the test program involved a bench-scale and mini-pilot test program to evaluate and optimize the Ti and
Fe recovery from the ilmenite rich anorthosite . A two -stage mixed-chloride leaching process , which attained an
overall Ti recovery of 80.6%, was undertaken. Preliminary mini -pilot solvent extraction circuits were also run to
establish steady state operation conditions prior to the large pilot operation in Phase 2 of the program. It was found
that selectivity was maintained in both the Fe and Ti solvent extraction (“SX”) circuits, with high purity Ti pregnant
strip solution produced.
The Ti -rich pregnant strip liquor underwent thermal precipitation and a total of ~ 88 kg of TiO 2 product was
recovered with an average of 99.8% purity in the two -phase test program s. The overall impurities present in the
final product ranged between 0.08% and 0.26%. Based on the quality of the TiO 2 product, end uses include
applications as a precursor for pigments, filler for pulp and paper, ceramics and consumer products (i.e., cosmetics
and sunscreen).
The chemical analysis of the composite head sample is provided below in Table 1. There was 41.06% Fe and
10.61% Ti in the head sample.
Table 1. Assay results of the composite Ilmenite head sample, as wt%
Representative samples of the ilmenite rich anorthosite were pulverized and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD)
at an accredited laboratory of Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Ancaster, ON. Table 2 highlights the mineral
abundances (wt%) in the ore. It is determined that the majority phases are magnetite and ilmenite.
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Table 2. Mineral abundances (wt%) in La Blache ilmenite rich anorthosite
The overall process flowsheet for processing of ilmenite concentrate derived from La Blache anorthosite ore to
produce market grade TiO2 is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Process flowsheet for the processing of La Blache ilmenite rich anorthosite ore
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This process flowsheet can be divided into the following steps:
Mixed Chloride Leaching (2 Stages)
Atmospheric pressure leaching was conducted on a -65 mesh feed material with a mixed chloride lixiviant at 70°C.
Two-stage leaching was performed to achieve a target overall Ti recovery of greater than 80%. After the first stage
of leaching, the slurry undergoes solid- liquid separation with the addition of a flocculant to improve the rate of
filtration. The resulting solid residue was used in the second stage of leaching and the pregnant leach solutions
(PLS) obtained from both stages were combined prior to use in the subsequent process steps. An overview of the
two-stage leaching process is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Two-stage mixed chloride leaching process
Oxidation
The pregnant leach solution (PLS) obtained from the two-stage leaching underwent oxidation for the conversion of
ferrous ion (Fe2+) to ferric ion (Fe3+). The PLS was pumped into columns in which oxygen gas (O 2) was sparged,
as show in Figure 3. Following oxidation, solvent extraction stages were conducted to separate iron and titanium
selectively.
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Iron (Fe) Solvent Extraction
The oxidized PLS was contacted with an organic phase to selectively load iron into the organic phase. Iron loaded
organic phase was scrubbed with a high concentration iron solution and then stripped by contact ing with a barren
strip solution to generate iron-rich pregnant strip liquor. Figure 4 demonstrates the Fe solvent extraction (SX) circuit
and Table 3 presents the results, and Photo 2 is of the Fe circuit.
Figure 4 Fe solvent extraction process
Figure 3 Oxidation unit process
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Titanium (Ti) Solvent Extraction
The raffinate obtained from iron solvent extraction was contacted with an organic phase to selectively load titanium
into the organic phase (Fe Raffinate Solution in Figure 4). Titanium loaded organic phase was scrubbed with a high
concentration titanium solution and then stripped by contacting with a barren strip solution to produce titanium-rich
Table 3 Fe SX solutions – Phase 1 Average Elemental Analysis
Photo 2 Fe Circuit
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pregnant strip liquor. Figure 5 shows the Ti SX circuit and Table 4 presents the results, with Photo 3 being of the
Ti circuit.
Figure 5 Ti solvent extraction process
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Photo 3. Ti circuit
Titanium Dioxide Precipitation
Titanium dioxide is precipitated from titanium-rich pregnant strip liquor by thermal precipitation at 95°C. There is
a pre -treatment step prior to thermal precipitation during which any residual organic is removed from the Ti
pregnant strip liquor by activated carbon. After precipitation, there are stages of HCl wash and water wash to remove
any further impurities. During the water wash, the pH of the slurry is increased using ammonium hydroxide
(NH₄OH), increasing the filtration rate. The final step is cal cination of the solid product at 800°C for 2 hours to
produce TiO₂.
Table 4 Ti SX solutions - Phase 1 Average Elemental Analysis